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Ridley Scott's Prometheus


Wally Q
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It felt like it should have gone all out as an Alien prequel or not at all, the nods and links to Alien are just too vague. There is no doubt it is set in the same universe and is an Alien film, but...

 

 

Unless I missed something its a completely different planet, ship and Space Jockey than we saw in Alien. That dissapointed me.

 

 

I forgot to add the film is visually gorgeous though, and has a wonderful main theme score wise.

 

 

 

 

Whats funny is the Ridley has said all along it's not a direct tie in, but all the visuals really told us otherwise. And without spoiling the final scene, yes Pong it does connect... But it doesn't really deliver what Ex was talking about-- giving us an idea of exactly how the Xenomorph came to be.

 

 

 

I would have prefered it without the final scene to be honest, at least then..

 

 

...I could have pictured the Space Jockey crawling back to the crashed ship, getting in the pilots seat and having a bit of consistancy with Alien. With the final scene theres no connection.

 

 

That what I would've thought too, but it makes sense after what u see pops out and after David said there is more than one ship. My guess is that another jockey tries to get home and is infected by and permutation.... geese i hope i spelt that right.

 

 

 

 

Correct me if I am wrong but....

 

 

 

Alien and Aliens take place on a planet named LV-426

 

Prometheus went to a moon named LV-223.

(Interestingly, note the first and last number of 223 is half the first and last number in 426)

 

Therefore, this is not the same planet or ship, right?

 

 

 

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Saw it at midnight show. Only disappointed at the lack of suspense, dread, fear, and scares. As a straight sci-fi film, I guess it worked.

 

 

 

Can't wait for Prometheus Episode II: The Adventures of Lisbeth Shawlander and Max Headroom... In Space. Maybe that one will actually tell a story.

 

Here's what I gathered.

 

"Engineers" created life on the planet x years ago. They make contact with various civilizations (Egyptian, Mayan, Hawaii), starting 35000 years ago with Isle of Skye, where they started life. Each of these civilizations paint those murals that show the star pattern. Something happened ~2000 years ago to cause the Engineers to wipe out life on Earth and start over. In their process of engineering a bioweapon to eliminate life on Earth, something goes wrong and earthworms get infected with the bio goo, mutating them into the Mouth Rapists. The MRs go into the engineers, burst out of them, wipe out errbody. So, no genocide on Earth. No Reset Button...

 

Given the emphasis on Shaw's faith, her getting her cross necklace back right before the end, and the "In the Year of our Lord, 2094" at the very end, I think it's safe to assume that the event that caused the Engineers to want to do a Reset Button on Earth was the crucifixion of their emissary/messiah to another civilization.

 

Here's what I don't get. They obviously knew the Xeno was possible, since it was on the mural. But I don't think that the Xeno was the bioweapon. Here's what had to happen to create that wonderful killing machine: Human male gets infected. Begins changing into that killing machine like Fifield. Has to have sex with human female. Female gets pregnant with face hugger. Face hugger then implants Engineer. They obviously sacrifice an Engineer for the building blocks when "terraforming," so sacrificing one to give birth to a Xeno seems fine.

 

 

 

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At this moment, Patton Oswalt is on an amazing Twitter rampage because the theater canceled the Prometheus showing he was attending because of an alleged broken projector, and handed out refunds to him and the other disgruntled patrons instead of trying to squeeze them into one of the other sold-out screens. He should've flown out here -- our 10 a.m. IMAX 3-D showing only had about 60 people, plenty of open seats. (Oddly, out of that entire crowd, exactly three were women. Interesting.)

 

At that size, Prometheus was loud and impressive. It's definitely more sci-fi and less horror than the previous films, but I didn't mind. I'm still making up my mind about what I think of its non-A/V qualities.

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Loved it. Kept an open mind, didn't decide for myself what SHOULD happen before seeing it so I could be let down when I saw what DID happen (a lesson many of you should learn), and ended up really liking what they did here.

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For the most part, I liked it.

 

There were a few moments that just didn't work for me.

 

 

Vickers didn't work for me at all. Her death was not good at all, but I guess a fitting end for such a worthless character. It felt like most of her story found the cutting room floor, but they already paid her so they had to keep her in the film.

 

 

But I liked the pacing. The first hour was slow, but I liked it slow. The acting was really sharp for the most part. Fassbender proves he is truly one of the up and coming great actors after a few solid performances in a row. He stole this film and it was great. I also liked the actress who played Shaw.

 

The visuals in this were great and exactly what I was hoping for. I thought it had the right amount of action, also. You start throwing in a ton of action setpieces and you will lose control of this thing really quickly. I was pleased to see that they were able to hold it a back. I think a lesser director would have felt the need to

have the alien from the final scene be the main antagonist of the final act.

 

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Going in, it felt like I'd already seen it, since I've gone over the script a hundred times and watched almost half the movie in bits and pieces as posted in various forums. Yet leaving, it somehow still felt fresh. How'd they do that?

 

I rated Prometheus an 87% for its NRE. Here's a breakdown of my reasoning:

  • Story and themes 98/100*2 //really neat, thoughtful story, and I loved it for its ideas. This is the best blend of science fiction. Would have given it a 99, but the pacing/structure was too jarring, and answered too many questions I didn't care about while keeping quiet on too many that I did.
  • Narrative and structure 79/100*2 // this is the biggest reason the film is merely "very good" rather than "great." There are obviously some big chunks missing due to time constraints or whatever. It's not a complete loss; for the most part it works... but unfortunately, if Ridley Scott is being honest, there will be no director's cut. Damn shame, since I can't think of a recent move that has needed one more.
  • Acting 91/100*2 //shockingly well done all around, especially given the sad history of this genre. Some silly and inexplicable behavior from time to time, but I'm giving the benefit of the doubt to the actors in this case; in each of these cases, I believe the "bad acting" is symptomatic of the way the film was cut, not their performances.
  • Dialogue: 77/100*1 //nothing special, but it definitely sounded a lot better than it was written. David has a few wonderful lines, but outside of that, you really need to credit the actors' ability to hold their noses and deliver their lines convincingly.
  • Score: 33/100*1//G_d-awful. Gets 20 bonus points for being orchestral, but man, it sounded like Jerry Goldsmith after suffering a stroke. It's rare that a score is so weak that it distracts from the movie, but every cue, every melody (well, every reiteration of that same melody) just made me want to jab an ice pick in my ear.
  • Sound: 95/100*1 //I felt like I'd actually stuck an ice pick in my ear while walking out of the theater. Nothing groundbreaking here, but great all around.
  • Design: 99/100*1 //simply gorgeous. Especially loved the juxtaposition of Earth tech and Engineer tech.
  • Ambiance and Intangibles: 99/100*2 //wonderful mix of science fiction, unanswered questions, and an occasional dollop of horror

Most loved: Vicker's death is quite possibly my favorite on-screen hero death ever. Fighting for life until the very end, angry and terrified, even though there's no hope of leaving the planet: a huge exclamation point on David's comment to Shaw.

 

Most hated: Weyland's makeup job is both hideous and unconvincing. How can a film where everything else looks so good fail so utterly here?

 

Most WTF pt 1: the scene of Milburn getting high must have been cut. He asks Fifield what he's smoking, and in the next frame his eyes are glazed and he's smiling at a "baby" of a vicious alien cobra? Ooookay...

 

Most WTF pt 2: Shaw, in danger and a major contamination threat, is able to get down the hall after attacking two crew members, give herself a c-section, and nobody sees or even seems to know until afterward? And when she wanders into the room with Weyland, they're all like "Hey, what's up, bleeding, semi-naked lady?"

 

Most WTF pt 3: How, exactly, does Janek just know they are WMDs? I realize faith is a big theme in this movie, but wha?

 

 

 

EDIT: reformat, added NRE link

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Well, I enjoyed it. I was fairly underwhelmed at stretches of the film but there was also enough brilliance evident to make it a worth while film. Unfortunately there were quite a few moments that took me out of the experience. Guy Pearce's makeup? Er, usually when a younger actor is caked in geezer makeup you can safely assume that at some point later on he'll be transformed into a young man... but he didn't, so why not just cast a dude who's actually old? Not only that but his character had no real conclusion. It was just a dead end, an unsatisfying dead end. It would have been nice if Charlize Theron's character actually had some hand in what happens to him, since she's obviously greedy and there to make sure she gets eventual control of the company.

David's motivations and a sense of imminent threat were also poorly established. I guess David was (under Weyland's orders) supposed to be testing out the virus on Charlie to see if it turned him young, but the logic in that was shaky at best. As were the Engineer's motivations for wanting to destroy earth (or did the virus turn on them and control them? I can't remember what was supposed to be happening in the hallway hologram recordings). And why, exactly, did they leave the cave paintings on earth? So that explorers would find the engineers slumbering and wake them up so that Armageddon could begin? I know it was purposefully vague, and I kind of liked that dread of the unknown (futility), but it felt more like they were just setting up a sequel. I could let the ambiguity fly if there had been a ticking clock, but the climax felt a bit forced. On reflection I can't remember why or how they knew the Engineers were going after earth. As an antagonist in the film they weren't very congruous with the previous "aliens" who could get away with being vague because they were monsters. The Engineers are highly intelligent, human-like beings, so when they suddenly go into "kill kill kill!" mode it's like... well, why? If they were possessed by some virus then the filmmakers should have shown us this more clearly.

 

And probably my biggest gripe (other than the score); the ship's captain and the other two bridge crew at the end... really? Did anyone really for a second believe they were willing to sacrifice themselves? What was their motivation for doing so? They were mercenaries. Even the most noble soldier is only going to do what they did as a last ditch no-possible-option-left-hail-mary-pass-for the greater good. Hell, even Randy Quaid flying his F-18 up the butt of the mothership in ID4 was more inspiring. I found the entire sequence completely unbelievable. "So, uh, captain, ya think there might be any other options... or.... no? Alright then." BOOM. It came across more like a death wish, actually, than anything heroic.

 

Finally, the music... I think this is the first time I've ever watched a movie where I was consciously distracted by the total lack of interest in the score. It was like the opposite of Albert Glasser. More than a few times I felt like pulling a Dr. Malcolm; "now eventually you might have MUSIC in your film score, right? Hello?

 

But, still, I liked the movie and it continues to linger on my mind, which is usually a good sign. Though the overall narrative structure was sometimes lacking, I though the buildup and pacing was well orchestrated. The art direction was excellent with the exception of the Engineer armor, which looked too clunky and bland, and didn't really invoke or convey any particular added meaning to the characters. The acting was very good and I loved most everyone in the cast; Noomi, Fassbender and Theron were fantastic as usual.

I've read a lot of you guys saying that the movie wasn't suspenseful or even scary? Wha? It wasn't on par with Alien but there were still enough times where I felt myself clenching up, and I'm desensitized to everything. I think Noomi's self-surgery scene is right up there with the first time we see the alien pop out of John Hurt's stomach.

 

And finally, yes, the final scene felt tacked on and the movie could have easily functioned as a separate, non-Alien, sci-fi film. BUT, I'm fine with it. Maybe the logic of how exactly this ties in to the first film is sketchy, but I really like the idea of the aliens being some sort of unholy, Armageddon virus.

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1. Ridley Scott is now in the same camp as Speilberg. Amazingly detailed, beautifully shot, spare-no expense spectacle films that don't know when to end and try to make me give a crap about unsympathetic people.

 

2. Damon Lindeloff continues to get high-profile work why? I know a lot of screenwriters not working in LA, and the hardest thing to do with high concept work is get stupid people to get it. Stupid execs first, and then, if they do get it, if it is mainstream they want to make sure everyone else is going to get it. How, with that paradigm, does Lindeloff get screenplays past people when he is purposefully confusing for the sake of being confusing and never plays out story beats he sets up?

 

3. This movie felt liess like a prequel/spinoff to me as it did some alternate universe version where Alien was made in 2012 instead of 1979. They are really the same movie, but Prometheus has the pacing, style, fx, and flash that today's audiences expect. Ridley is classy enough to not say this, but I couldn't help but hear George Lucas while watching this, prattling on about how the PT is what he always wanted to do, but didn't have the tools for back in the 70s.

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Ridley is classy enough to not say this, but I couldn't help but hear George Lucas while watching this, prattling on about how the PT is what he always wanted to do, but didn't have the tools for back in the 70s.
Scott's been anything but classy about this movie. His bragging about how great the screenplay was, and how he uses ten million times more practical effects than any other living director, etc., etc... has really turned me off on the guy. He's obviously a master craftsman with a brilliant eye, but I bet he'd make a more complete film if he could get over himself.
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Guy Pearce's makeup? Er, usually when a younger actor is caked in geezer makeup you can safely assume that at some point later on he'll be transformed into a young man... but he didn't, so why not just cast a dude who's actually old? Not only that but his character had no real conclusion. It was just a dead end, an unsatisfying dead end.
It's my understanding that there were scenes (I don't know if they were shot) with a younger Weyland, that expanded his story. Would have really liked to have seen them, if only to remove the big "Dead End" signs...

 

David's motivations and a sense of imminent threat were also poorly established. I guess David was (under Weyland's orders) supposed to be testing out the virus on Charlie to see if it turned him young, but the logic in that was shaky at best. As was the Engineer's motivations for wanting to destroy earth (or did the virus turn on them and control them? I can't remember what was supposed to be happening in the hallway hologram recordings). And why, exactly, did they leave the cave paintings on earth? So that explorers would find the engineers slumbering and wake them up so that Armageddon could begin? I know it was purposefully vague, and I kind of liked that dread of the unknown (futility), but it felt more like they were just setting up a sequel. I could let the ambiguity fly if there had been a ticking clock, but the climax felt a bit forced. On reflection I can't remember why or how they knew the Engineers were going after earth. As an antagonist in the film they weren't very congruous with the previous "aliens" who could get away with being vague because they were monsters. The Engineers are highly intelligent, human-like beings, so when they suddenly go into "kill kill kill!" mode it's like... well, why? If they were possessed by some virus then the filmmakers should have shown us this more clearly.
All legitimate critiques and questions -- but like you said, you can't stop thinking about the film afterwards. There better be a sequel, dammit!

 

:eek:

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...poorly established...Engineer's motivations for wanting to destroy earth (or did the virus turn on them and control them? I can't remember what was supposed to be happening in the hallway hologram recordings).

 

We weretheir creations and we originally worshipped them, but we decided to worship another creator and it pissed them off. Presumably, they were in the process of heading back to Earth when suddenly their was a contamination/accident from the cargo hold and things didn't go according to plan.

 

And why, exactly, did they leave the cave paintings on earth? So that explorers would find the engineers slumbering and wake them up so that Armageddon could begin?

 

The cave paintings were by ancient humans who still worshipped them as our creators at the time of said paintings.

 

...I can't remember why or how they knew the Engineers were going after earth. As an antagonist in the film they weren't very congruous with the previous "aliens" who could get away with being vague because they were monsters. The Engineers are highly intelligent, human-like beings, so when they suddenly go into "kill kill kill!" mode it's like... well, why?

 

They went into stasis during whatever outbreak/accident took place before, which was presumably as they were planning to come contaminate Earth. Upon waking up, the very thing you meant to go destroy is standing before you. And even worse, has created a form of life itself which is the first thing greeting you and speaking to you in YOUR language? It is understandable why the Engineer went rage mode and decided to go pick back up where they left off and go destroy Earth's life.

 

In a nutshell, the Engineers were outraged at their creation no longer worshipping/recognizing them as the creators, so their WMD was to wreck havoc on us. Instead, it backfired and kept them from coming to end us. We woke the last one up, probably pissed it off even more than it was before, and it sought to finish what the others started.

 

Apparently Shaw had it right though. She maintained her faith, and she survived.

 

"If they made us..."

"...then who made them?"

 

Oh and people keep asking about her "pregnancy." Technically I wouldn't compare it so much to conventional conception as I would the facehugger/xeno process, except it took place where a person would normally carry a child instead of in the chest.

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We weretheir creations and we originally worshipped them, but we decided to worship another creator and it pissed them off.
I presumed that, because of how much I'd read about the film beforehand, but had I gone in cold, I'm not sure I would have figured it out. There's a fine line between leaving a little something to the imagination and being obtuse. I can't decide which side of the line this falls on yet. Will have to decide after seeing it again.

 

They went into stasis during whatever outbreak/accident took place before, which was presumably as they were planning to come contaminate Earth. Upon waking up, the very thing you meant to go destroy is standing before you. And even worse, has created a form of life itself which is the first thing greeting you and speaking to you in YOUR language? It is understandable why the Engineer went rage mode and decided to go pick back up where they left off and go destroy Earth's life.
Yeah, I didn't have a problem with psycho engineer...

 

In a nutshell, the Engineers were outraged at their creation no longer worshipping/recognizing them as the creators, so their WMD was to wreck havoc on us. Instead, it backfired and kept them from coming to end us. We woke the last one up, probably pissed it off even more than it was before, and it sought to finish what the others started.
Do we know that they turned against us because we stopped worshipping them? I don't think the film was clear about this, though I didn't have a problem with it, so long as it is elaborated on in the future.

 

:eek:

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Yes, that and the time they stopped visiting. I actually really like the idea, but with what we've seen so far, I think it's a leap to presume that it's about Jesus and no longer worshiping the Engineers.

 

Given Scott's view that religion is the "biggest source of evil," I wonder how that part of the story will play out?

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According to my son's research, the present-day company history provided about the Weyland Corporation in AvP doesn't line up with the company history provided in the Prometheus viral-video material. (Seriously, he was looking up Alien-related stuff for hours after we saw the movie because he enjoyed it that much.)

 

Depending on whether or not viral-video material counts as canon, it's probably best to consider the two AvP films as apocryphal write-offs. I'm fine with that.

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Yeah, I don't know where you got that as the Engineers' motivation but if any of that was in the movie's dialogue, I must have missed it. Sounds like fan wank to me. (no offense)

 

I got it from the timeline. Why emphasize 2000 years ago if not for that reason? It's also curious that the one member of the crew to exhibit and maintain her religious convictions was the only survivor. That was no coincidence.

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I wondered about that also. They specifically mentioned "at least 2000 years" when they were carbon dating the body. With the faith overtones throughout the movie, it seemed like that was either intentional or a really poor date to make up. But that's all the information they give you. So whether it is specifically related to that, we can only speculate. Just one more layer of intrigue to me.

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I think its safe to assume that Jesus was an Engineer, and the fact that he was killed was what set the Engineers off on a reset button path. The "we started worshipping another creator" doesn't make sense timewise. Jesus' death, not the preceding religion or the result of Christianity doesn't fit the timeline.

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If there's supposed to be a religious message in this, the film just took a murkier turn. I read the original cut was 2 hours 27 minutes, so if it's in there then maybe it can be worked out a little better, Unless it's more of David walking the ship...

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